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Tag: Danville-Pittsylvania County Industrial Development Authority

Pittsylvania megasite wins $1.3B battery separator project

Tennessee-based Microporous will invest $1.3 billion to build a battery separator manufacturing facility at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill in Pittsylvania County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Nov. 13. The company expects to create 2,015 jobs.

The megasite’s first tenant, Microporous will develop Lot 1 at the park in two phases, with each phase being about 500,000 square feet. Lot 2 of the megasite will be under consideration for Microporous’ potential future expansion. Virginia successfully competed with North Carolina for the project.

During the ceremonial groundbreaking for the project, Youngkin nodded at the controversy created in 2023 after word broke that the governor had pulled the Southern Virginia Megasite out of the running for a $3.5 billion Ford Motor Co. electric vehicle battery factory over national security concerns that a Chinese company would be involved in its operation.

“I want to say it very clearly,” Youngkin said. “This is an American company using American technology that will hire American workers and supply American companies.”

For more than eight decades, Microporous has produced separators for lead-acid batteries, the oldest rechargeable battery technology, which is typically used in vehicles and to power grid systems. The company’s headquarters are in Sullivan County, Tennessee, near Bristol, Virginia. It also has a facility in Austria.

At the megasite, Microporous plans to expand into creating battery separators for lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles, energy storage systems and other applications.

Microporous CEO John Reeves says the facility will be at the forefront of clean energy: “We are driven by commitment to innovation, sustainability and growth, and today marks an extraordinary step in that journey.”

The company’s Berry Hill manufacturing facility will be fully operational by 2026, according to Reeves.

The Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill is owned jointly by the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County through the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority (RIFA). Leaders in the two counties have worked to make the site a reality since 2008.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Microporous was tapped to receive $100 million in federal funding for the project.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Danville-Pittsylvania County RIFA, Pittsylvania County, the City of Danville, the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission and the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission to secure the project.

Hand-built electric classic sports cars to be built in Danville

RBW Sports & Classics, a United Kingdom manufacturer of hand-built electric vehicles that have designs inspired by British sports cars from the 1960s and 1970s, plans to invest $8 million to establish a manufacturing facility at Cane Creek Centre in Danville, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. 

The project is expected to create 144 jobs. Those workers will produce RBW’s first left-hand drive, electric Roadster and GT models for the U.S. market. 

Peter Swain founded the company — which is named after his children, Rose, Becs and Wesley — in 2017. 

“Already selling in Europe, Asia and even Bermuda, the new facility in Virginia supports RBW’s entry to the U.S. market,” Swain, who is CEO, said in a statement. 

RBW delivered its first cars in 2022 and opened its first factory in the United Kingdom in 2023. The company currently manufactures electric Roadster and GT models, and its electric vehicle architecture and systems can be installed under other body shells.

The company unveiled its left-hand drive Roadster and GT models at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, which ran from Aug. 15 to Aug. 18. Starting prices for RBW cars run between $139,000 to $151,000.

In July, Swain, who previously worked in security systems, was featured in a Financial Times article about whether the United Kingdom’s Labour Party should develop an industrial strategy. In the article, Swain noted more incentives are available in the United States for business owners. “We can get so much help everywhere — apart from in our own backyard,” he told the Financial Times.

The Cane Creek Centre is jointly owned by the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Pittsylvania County, the City of Danville, the Danville-Pittsylvania County Regional Industrial Facility Authority and the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance to secure the project for Virginia.

Youngkin approved a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Danville and Pittsylvania County with this project. The Virginia Jobs Investment Program will also provide funding and services to support employee training activities.